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 Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:04 am
[Castor's player dropped out. I'm moving things along.]
With her Champion claimed and tokens handed out the Lady gave the misfit group a fond little smile, Skurk in particular she gave a little nod of thanks for taking her charm. Then she turned to the mage and took the few steps up to pull him into a loose hug and whisper something in his ear. The man took it calmly with a slight nod of agreement then watched wistfully as the woman stepped back again.
"You know what you must do," the Lady told him with a look to the other two and Castor bowed deeply for it.
"Yes, my Lady. We will find your Seal and return it," he promised with conviction then turned to the others. "Come, it will be a long journey."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 10:26 am
Quintus had always been of the opinion that stupidity was an art, one that he had already mastered. It was all about being selective in when you were stupid, and doing so when you were about to sleep in the middle of your foe was not a smart idea. Sam slipping off to the girl's tent struck Quintus as an awful idea, but he wasn't really too concerned. They were angry with Quintus, not Sam. Sam had been quite pleasant, in fact. Quintus had taken the time and effort to taunt them with a vague threat of theological nature. And he was still entirely too pleased with himself for how nicely it had gone. It was, he supposed, like stabbing another guy in prison: he'd proven he was tough and dumb or smart and fast enough to play that kind of game, which meant nobody would want to mess with him unless they absolutely had to, which would only happen if he made it happen.
In short, they were now playing his game. And Quintus loved it, as he always did. Didn't happen enough this way, really.
Quintus obviously had little to nothing to pack; he checked his Colt and his clothing, dusted off his shoes, stretched, partook of the breakfast, wished he had a toothbrush, and finally fell in with the rest of the camp as they prepared to move, looking for Sam. He was, after all, the guard, so he should probably stick close.
Mac gave the Lady a small nod. He wasn't sure of the significance of all of this, but if she could get him one step closer to home, well, that was fine.
"," Mac advised, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the island. Long was a rather vague term, but Mac was likely not to be the slowest in the group. Fuel levels were good, joints limber, vision clear, no damage. That made his range indefinite. Humans were not that way, of course, so they'd have to stop for the robed man. Goblins were probably not that way, since as far as Mac could tell their configuration was rather similar to a human one. Their speed limit would therefore be based on the fitness of one of the two organics. They'd find out which soon enough, and then they could pace themselves properly.
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:29 am
Mad Sam was fulfilled in at least one aspect. Never had he had something so exotic and admittedly he would likely crave it in the future. But alas the future was not now. Right now the camp was moving and the party was over.
Shuffling on what clothes he lost and finding his pack amongst the pillows he prepared himself for the day to come with less vigor than he usually had. After a night like that the day was sure to be a disappointment.
His feet drug lines in the sand as he set out to find the Caliph. Who he found was Quintus instead.
"Oy, Quincy, maddammerung."
Who knows what the merchant said, his mind was more than a bit off-kilter.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 9:42 am
Skurk had no intention of being the limiting factor on their progress; the exceedingly physically fit goblin was used to week-long forced marches and had endurance that, though not quite ox- or even mule-like, was nonetheless impressive, particularly considering his short stature. They made good time, Skurk noted, in their journey, and this would likely hold for as long as the mage/champion/mindslave held out. With any luck, he'd have his edurance enhanced by the demon and they could be done with her and him and everything about them in short order.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 9:24 pm
The forest stretched on and on and on. For a while the mage held up but it became apparent after several hours that the 'demon' had not increased his stamina, at least not enough. He glared at the eternal twilight sky, cursing it inwardly, then collapsed with a grunt to the mossy ground, face first. Castor just laid there a while before muttering into the moss.
"Need a rest. . . few hours," he picked his head up to see if the others had stopped.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 9:56 pm
Quintus nodded in reply. Maddammerung? Was that... another language? He couldn't make any sense of it. "Prepared for our visit?" Quintus asked, glancing around at the assembling crowd. That would be interesting. So would the ramifications. Invoking the Nammu thing indirectly might anger whatever goddess dwelt in the temple. But Quintus had made no promises, sealed no contracts. Nammu had marked him. That burning on the neck was some kind of mark, a scar as best as Quintus could figure. Where she tried to draw blood and failed.
He wouldn't make a deal here, either.
He knew the mythology. The stories of the gods. And if he had met one, which he wasn't sure he had, that was all true. No god could be trusted; none of them cared a whit for humans. Always playing their own game. She'd offered him a way home, true, but... how could she even fulfill that if she couldn't free herself? Were her powers bound? That could be the case. Not that all of them could be - Sam had seemed enchanted. Then again at the first invitation he slipped off to the girl's tent, so maybe the man was just a womanizer. That'd sting him eventually.
Mac had already stopped. "" he observed. "" That wasn't necessarily short, by any means, but humans were often impatient, and even Mac himself was prepared to arrive. Lifting and carrying the man wouldn't slow him down, and they might even be able to move faster. It would be logistically difficult, but maybe he could carry both of them. If they built something for it, perhaps. Mac wouldn't know how, unfortunately.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 6:42 pm
The Mad Merchant chuckled and experienced a moment of satisfaction-clarity, something that happens on the occasions his mind is free from its desiring restraints. Sam looked the man before him up and down and spoke with a furrowed brow that begged seriousness in its grim canyons,
"You will get us killed."
The clarity affected his language too. But then the clarity was gone and the cloud of awesome feeling once again took hold. The traveler smiled at the man before him as though what he said did not matter and spoke again, this time without the clarity,
"We find Caliph, new place waits."
Sam clapped his hands excitedly and headed towards the other side of the camp.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:44 pm
Quintus' response was simple. "I'm not afraid to die." Unspoken was the question: Are you? One should not jump down death's throat, but there were things worth risking it for. And Quintus hadn't fully accepted this place anyway.
Sam's strange swap to clarity was interesting. What had driven that? Quintus wasn't sure, and when he thought about it he decided he probably didn't entirely want to know. They both played different games, and it looked an awful lot like they might crash each other's. Quintus realized he'd hoped to stay attached to this guy for a while, at least until he was sure he understood where he was. Didn't seem like it'd work out too well though. Quintus sure didn't intend to get lead into whatever pit that goddess was digging for them.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:37 am
Skurk took the opportunity to sit while they decided what to do. After Mac (presumably) explained the situation to the goblin (since they lacked the mage's translation option), Skurk contributed that he'd be fine with Castor being carried or with resting now, since he'd woken up reasonably recently.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:47 am
Mad Sam feigned not hearing Quintus's reply and started to think about it as he searched for his party. Then he stopped. There was no reason to think about death. The man not afraid of death would die before Sam, because while Sam also did not fear death, he did not toy with the gracious Faerin.
Besides, with their respect he would be able to enter the temple and behold magnificent wonders not beheld to many. And that is worth a few stories, which is worth more than its weight in gold.
Sam reflected on the absurdity of that thought before he finally found the young one.
"Oy, Traval todai?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 7:21 pm
The young Faerin was lounging in a curtained litter set on blocks to await the camp's final packing when Sam found him, picking at a bunch of grapes. The boy grinned and waved the mad merchant closer with a quick phrase that must have been greeting. He was excited the strangers had stayed and talkative, telling Sam how much he'd enjoyed the night's stories and ribbing him for sleeping with the girls.
Then the boy went on to speak of the day's plans. Once the camp was packed they would set out toward the next oasis which they should reach by day's end - not that the day actually ends here but they kept time in crystals. The boy showed Sam one and it was beautiful, irridescent and softly glowing. The boy explained it would grow brighter over the hours then fade again at the end of the day. He started to elaborate on huge caverns of the stones but his head guard stepped in to stop him and gave Sam a suspicious glare.
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:14 am
Sam was quite intrigued by the crystal and ignorant of the guard's gaze.
Not completely so, but why justify suspicion? If you ignored town guards they likely ignored you as well, this one is no different.
"I am intrested in sujathing, perhaps I canave one?"
The traveler smiled and patted the underside of his bag.
"I can trade."
Assuming gifts would be rude after all.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 3:25 pm
But this guard was different and it wasn't a town he was guarding. Still, the sour man just watched with displeasure as the young Caliph grinned wide with a happy nod and turned the faintly glowing crystal over in his hands. It was quite valuable for looks alone with delicate spindles and sharp facets to the polished form. The rarity of it drove it's price up considerably higher not to mention that it had a practical function. Whether or not the boy knew this Sam could only guess and got no help from the boy's answer.
"What do you have?" he replied with a slightly coy smile and the guard rolled his eyes.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:10 pm
Pushing himself up to a sit so he could glare at the machine, Castor shook his head and waved the robot's suggestion off. "We can spare a few hours," he muttered grumpily. Something strange had happened back at that lake and he was starting to realize it. Going back in his mind over the events he could hardly believe it. Some strange, and incredibly powerful, woman had come out of nowhere and completely intoxicated him with her mere presence. This was a troubling thing as he had never encountered it, and he'd met Gods. Of course she claimed to be a Goddess and, at the time, he had accepted it with just a few thoughts of resistance. With his better judgement returning he was finding more reasons to doubt but could not deny her power. Power she at least claimed to have given him some of.
With a deep frown the old turned young mage looked down at his hands. He could see the veins of her magic within him, clinging to him. He wiped his hands but it stayed and Castor knew there was nothing he could do about it now. He just hoped this task they had been set to was a benign one. He did not want to disappoint this woman, for more than a lingering loyalty to her influence. He knew enough gods to know they did not appreciate failure.
So he sat, staring over the trees to where he somehow knew her objective was and contemplated a strategy.
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:13 pm
The mad merchant could not quite remember his inventory. Fortunately his habit of forgetfulness beget his habit of writing things down, so with a quick word to the boy he set his backpack and recalled his journal.
Much to his surprise, however, his journal did not appear, instead it was the one he had found in the wet footlocker. Only he did not fully remember that. For a second what he held in his hands was simply a strange book but by opening it he remembered how he came across it.
He took a moment to go off-topic. "I cain acros this, p'rhaps you can mahk sense o' it."
He held the book out to the young one.
Half a ploy to inspect the crystal and half a true attempt to figure out what the book was. Perhaps he should have given the guard the courtesy of inspecting the book first, much like a taster of poisoned foods.
This, however, did not occur to mad man. He simply held the journal out in earnest.
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